How do you use your money as a tool?

A challenge to get comfortable around money this year.

At first I saw it as money down the drain. A straight loss that I couldn't bear to think too much about. I had bought at the top, when the stock-market was at its most expensive in 2007, and sold at the bottom in the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2008. But that would be my best investment lesson. And what I learned became the basis for what I do today: understanding and being responsible for my own financial decisions. My monthly savings on the stock-market enabled me ten years later to buy off the company I own and run today - thanks to not giving up on failure.

Although I started saving in the stock market already when I was 19, it wasn't until a decade later that I realized that I never talked to my girl friends about how I think about my savings. And we know what happens in conversations with a close friend: We inspire each other, perhaps to start exercising, discover a new brand or visit a new restaurant. So why is finance so rarely a topic of conversation? Is it the fear of not knowing enough, of having too little money in the bank or perhaps the shame of having too much?

Dreams, on the other hand, we can talk about (which are often dependent on finances), big or small. Some of them are available, others are perceived as attainable. But if we don't see other people with whom we can identify, who dare to invest in making their dreams come true - then our own dreams are probably moved further away from us.

If we reverse that reasoning: What happens when we meet people who dare to bet and take risks? It inspires and challenges.

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Women own half of what men own in Sweden today, one of the world's most equal countries according The World Bank. This means an opportunity: it can become more equal. In the first Feminvest Magazine , I want to show the diversity among women who invest in their own finances in different ways. Some of them might live in your neighborhood, look like you, or work at what you do. Someone else does and is the exact opposite of you.

Feminvest gathers, educates and inspires thousands of women in the Nordics to get started with their finances. From starting to save, learning more about the stock market and investments to investing in unlisted companies. In addition, we have a fast-growing entrepreneurial community where you get to meet other women investing in their businesses, where we help with tools for growth, financing and internationalization.

I personally don't see money as something I want to accumulate, but as a tool - tools we as women need to use even more going forward. Something that should be taken up from our toolbox and that we should be confident in how it should be used.

If there's one thing I hope you take away from reading Feminvest Magazine , it's the feeling that you too can think bigger, so put the fear of failure aside and be inspired. Take the tool in your hands.

Imagine if a dream actually becomes your reality.

Michaela Berglund

CEO, Feminvest

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